We're a Family Now
by Unsubstantiated Assertion
Summary: "We're a family now," Ezran said. It was the first night after Azymondias hatched. "Zym's the baby, Callum's the mom, Rayla's the dad, Bait's the dog, and I'm the cool uncle!" Rayla smiled. "Aw, tha's sweet of you. Except-" "Why am I the mom?" Callum interrupted. UPDATE: Now with a short bonus chapter!
1. We're a Family Now

After the pure slapstick from Into the Well (which I guess you could consider canon to this), I decided to try something fluffier. The first half is in between seasons one and two, the second is set many years after the war.

* * *

It was the first night after Azymondias hatched. Ezran, Callum, and Rayla were sitting around a campfire outside one of the many abandoned buildings that made up Lujanne's home. Ellis and Aya had already gone to bed. Before turning in, the three (plus one dragon and one glow toad) were basking in the warmth of the fire and relaxing after the harrowing events on the mountain.

Ezran looked over the small fire, where Callum and Rayla sat across from him. He then turned to check on Bait, who was perched atop Ezran's backpack but otherwise motionless and grumpy as always. Finally his eyes landed on Zym, the new born dragon who as an egg had brought them together in the first place. Zym was bounding around the fire, going to and from everyone for head scratches. An epiphany struck the young prince as Zym plopped into his lap.

"We're a family now!" Ezran exclaimed.

Rayla and Callum stared blankly at him.

"Zym's the baby, Callum's the mom, Rayla's the dad, Bait's the dog, and I'm the cool uncle!"

Rayla smiled. "Aw, tha's sweet of you. Except-"

"Why am I the mom?" Callum interrupted.

"You hatched the egg with your primal stone. That makes you the mom." Ezran crossed his arms, explaining as if this was an obvious conclusion everyone should be already have come to.

Rayla stroked her chin in thought. "I guess tha' makes sense..."

"No it doesn't," Callum interjected.

"But by that logic, wouldn't Bait be the da' instead of me?" Rayla pointed towards the glow toad in question. "On account of him bein' the first thing Zym saw?"

"Yeah, you're right!" Ezran patted Bait on the back. "Congratulations, Bait. You're a proud papa to the Dragon Prince." Bait grumbled but didn't show any further reaction.

"He says he's honored," Ezran translated. "I'll be the dog then, since I can talk to animals."

"I guess tha' makes me the cool aunt. Fine by me." Rayla leaned back, planting her hands on the ground to support herself. Unintentionally, her left hand landed on top of Callum's.

The two jumped at the accidental contact. Rayla pulled her hand away while both muttered apologies as their cheeks reddened. Ezran grinned.

"How dare you cheat on your husband, Callum!" Ezran held out Bait accusingly. "I won't let you tear this family apart!"

The three burst out laughing. Ezran laughed so hard he was forced to haphazardly set Bait down lest he drop him. Zym hopped in place with his tongue lolling out his mouth in shared joy, though he didn't fully understand what was going on. Once their mirth died down Ezran's mood changed.

"I mean it, guys," he said. "I feel like we're not just some kids and a baby dragon on a quest. We're more than that. Like a family."

"Of course we're a family, you're my brother, Ez," Callum scooted over to put his hand on Ezran's shoulder.

"No, duh," Ezran rolled his eyes. "I meant all of us together. You, me, Rayla, Zym, and Bait." He looked up solemnly at Rayla and Callum.

"Promise me that we'll stick together. That we won't just forget about each other after we've gotten Zym home."

The others expressions' fell.

"Ez, you know we can't promise that," Callum said, unable to meet Ezran's gaze. "Zym will have to stay with his mother. We'll have to go back to Katolis."

"I don't even know what I'm gonna' do," Rayla added. "Best case is everyone in Xadia thinks I'm dead. Otherwise I'm probably a wanted criminal for ruinin' the assassination. Either way I don't have a home to go back to."

"Then you can stay with us!" Ezran bounced to his feet in excitement. "And we can visit Zym! Or he can visit us since he'll be able to fly eventually."

Rayla smiled sadly. "Thanks, but I don't think a human kingdom would want an elf assassin livin' in their castle."

"I'll be the king someday," Ezran stood tall and proud. "So everyone will have to listen to me and let you stay. Besides, you don't have to be an assassin. You said you didn't want to kill anyone anyway, right?"

"Yeah, but what _would_ I do?"

"You could be the opposite of an assassin..." Ezran paused to build anticipation, "an ambassador!" He spread his arms with a flourish. "An assassin's job is kill people, an ambassador's job is to make friends with people. Total opposites _and_ they both start with 'a'."

Rayla mulled over the suggestion. "Tha'... maybe it could work. Maybe." She held up her hands. "Possibly. I can't promise anythin'."

"You can be pretty clever when you're not hoarding jelly tarts or taking advice from raccoons," Callum added.

"So you do guys promise?" Ezran asked. "Zym already promised."

"Zym's a baby and a dragon, I don't know if he understands." Callum sighed. "But yeah, I promise."

Rayla had gotten up and was pacing back and forth. "I just told you I can't-" she stopped, took a deep breath and turned to face Ezran. "Alright, fine. I promise too."

Ezran caught the both of them in a hug, which Zym immediately leaped into as well. Bait nudged his head against Ezran's leg and glowed pink. "We'll stick together, because we're a family now."

* * *

How ironic it was that Ezran was the one to break the promise, and only a week later. Realizing his father was dead changed everything. Ezran knew that he was needed in Katolis but he was just as sure that they wouldn't be apart forever. He was right. The three (plus one dragon and one glow toad) did reunite and Rayla did stay for a time once the war ended. They even got to visit Zym as part of the peace talks. But as the years passed the makeshift family began to drift apart.

Ezran was confined to the castle, too occupied with his duties as king to leave for anything other than royal matters. Callum should have needed to stay as an adviser and High Mage but his training in primal magic necessitated constant traveling. His journeys only increased in length as he began to teach what he had learned to encourage cooperation between humans and elves. He hoped it would also slowly wean humanity away from its reliance on dark magic.

Rayla had indeed become an ambassador. She was always back and forth between the human kingdoms and Xadia for negotiations and diplomatic missions. There were still plenty opposed to peace on both sides, so her assassin skills saw plenty of (non-lethal) use.

Ezran was nineteen now and hadn't seen Rayla or Callum in months.

It wasn't all bad. He still had Bait. He could still occasionally sense Zym through their unique connection. Corvus had been promoted to his personal bodyguard. Soren was still part of the Crownguard, and Claudia was the acting court mage while Callum was away. Then there was a smaller detail that made Ezran smile whenever he helped keep it in motion. No matter the city or town Callum went to study or teach was, it always happened to be the same place Rayla's current ambassadorial duties were. Nobles or dignitaries would often ask about how convenient that was, how it could put the king's objectivity into question. Ezran always had the perfect answer, for it was true as much as it was an excuse. Both of their missions were at their heart missions to foster peace between elves and humans, and they were a now famous symbol of what that unity could be.

It was night. The light from a full moon pierced through the doors to the balcony in Ezran's quarters. They had been King Harrow's once and despite all the bad memories that came from that room, Ezran had made it his own. It felt like his father was still watching over him when he was inside. Now he was supposed to be looking over a letter discussing potential trade routes at the Breach, but in reality he was caught reminiscing about those old adventures.

There was a sharp knock on the door. Ezran jolted from his desk to answer the door but it swung open before he could reach it. Soren stood on the other side, out of breath but grinning ear to ear. Even winded, Soren didn't let the king get a word in before explaining himself.

"Step-Prince and Princess-in-Law are outside."

Ezran already had his cloak on was shoving past Soren.

"Hey," Soren called out. "They're outside the castle walls! By the forest!"

Outside the castle was bit of an understatement. Luckily a guard posted at the front gate had been ordered by Soren to lead the King to his visitors. They came to a clearing in the woods just off the main road leading the castle walls. Standing the center, illuminated by the full moon, were Callum and Rayla. Though Callum was now twenty three and Rayla twenty four with both having grown significantly, neither was as tall as Ezran. He was nearly as tall as King Harrow now and his growth had only slowed, not stopped.

"Hey, Ez." Any chance of a formal greeting was dashed instantly when the three got within hugging range.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? How did you get here so quick?" Ezran asked as he released them from his hug.

"Consider it one of several surprises we've got planned for tonight," Callum answered.

"As fer' your other question, our next surprise should answer that." Rayla stepped back and pointed to up to a cloud bank in the northeast.

Sparks of lightning flickered through the clouds. Ezran was left breathless when he realized what it meant. The clouds parted and Azymondias swooped down, coming to rest at the edge of the clearing. At his present size however, landing at the edge of the clearing meant his head was right next to Ezran. Zym wasn't a big as his father just yet, but he was getting close. He lowered his head for Ezran to scratch like old times. Only now it was a much greater effort considering Zym's head was nearly the size of the human king.

"I missed you too, Zym."

"You'd be surprised what the two of us can do with a full moon," Rayla explained, "and some pointers from Lujanne. Thanks to that the Dragon King managed to fit it into his busy schedule to drop us off and say hi."

"He has to get back before sunrise," Callum said apologetically. "Can't risk an international incident, you know?"

Zym nodded. He nuzzled his snout against Ezran's chest one last time. Then the now Dragon King took to the skies once more while Ezran, Callum, and Rayla waved him off. The guard who had escorted Ezran waved halfheartedly as well from behind the tree he'd been hiding behind in terror as soon as the giant dragon had shown up.

"I can't imagine how you're gonna' top that surprise," chuckled Ezran.

Rayla took Callum's hand. "Do you remember the night after Zym hatched? When you said we were a family now 'cause Zym was the baby, I was the da' and Callum was the mum?"

"Yeah, except we decided Bait was the dad."

"Forget that part," Callum said. "Remember how I said it didn't make any sense for me to be the mom? Well, I was right. I'm not definitely not a mom..." Callum took a deep breath. "But..." Another breath. "I _am_... going to be a dad."

"You mean?"

They both nodded.

"You guys are having a-" Ezran couldn't get it out.

"Rayla's p-" he was still at a loss for words.

Rayla put her free hand on Ezran's shoulder. "You are going to be the _coolest_ cool uncle."

He swept up the two of them in a hug that put the first to shame.

"You two didn't waste any time." The three separated again now that the shock had warn off for Ezran.

"We're kind of terrified," Callum laughed. "In a good way." He gave Rayla's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"And that brings us to yer' final surprise. I'm may not look it yet," Rayla gestured to her stomach. "But a few months from now and I won't be able to travel and tha's not even thinkin' about what happens when the wee bairn gets here."

This time Ezran knew exactly where they were going with this. "So you're staying?"

"At least a year, maybe two," Callum answered. "Plus we won't be able to travel as often or for as long when we do have to leave."

"I knew it." Ezran wiped at his eyes with his sleeve.

"Knew what?" They both asked.

"You kept your promise."


	2. Bonus Scene

Here's a brief bonus chapter. I wasn't able to fit it into the main story but loved the joke so much I wanted to put it out there anyway (also it lets Claudia do something instead of just being mentioned).

* * *

The next morning, Ezran held a meeting with his most trusted advisers to announce Callum and Rayla's news. They had gathered in the throne room, with additional chairs set out while Ezran stood in front of his throne. Any royal pregnancy would need to be formally announced before rumors and gossip could take hold, but it was especially important given the child's unique parentage. Once a plan was formed and letters to the nobility were being drafted, discussion naturally shifted to less serious topics.

"So, will the baby have horns?"

Rayla shrugged at Ezran's question. "I don't know."

"Will it have five fingers on each hand, or four?"

"I don't know."

"Will it have pointy ears, or round ones?"

"I. don't. know."

"Will it-"

"When we found out, the _doctor_ fainted," Callum interjected. "So the answer to anything you ask is: 'we don't know until it comes out.'"

"Ahem," Claudia walked over to the throne where the three had been talking. "Can I borrow the happy couple for a minute?"

"Sure," Ezran smiled and stepped away.

"I wanted to give you guys something," Claudia said while rooting around in the satchel of ingredients she kept at her side. "You can't show this to _anyone_."

"Okay..." Rayla raised her eyebrow.

With a triumphant grin, Claudia whipped a small piece of torn paper from her satchel. She looked from side to side to make sure no one else in the room was watching the exchange too closely. Once satisfied, she pressed the paper in Callum's hands.

"Thanks, Claudia," Callum took the slightly crumpled paper. "What is it?"

"It's the secret recipe for my hot brown morning potion." She smirked, "A few months from now, you're gonna need all you can drink."


End file.
